2017 Domaine du Vieux Télégraphe Châteauneuf-du-Pape La Crau
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Tasting notes
Garrigue, green olive, leafy herb, and peppery, bright red fruits create the nose. On the palate, the wine is soft, polished, and fresh with a lean to the peppery, red fruit side of the style range. It is already showing quite well, so you can easily drink this now with pleasure, or age it for all of its future, secondary development. Produced from a blend of 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre, and 5% Cinsault, along with other, assorted red and white grape varieties. 60-70% of the harvest is destemmed. The wine is a product of very low yields as close to 35% of the crop was lost due to colure. Drink from 2022-2037.
Critic scores
The Wine Advocate
Richard Hemming MW, jancisrobinson.com
More reviews and scores
Brilliant ruby. Powerfully scented aromas of ripe raspberry, blueberry, potpourri and garrigue , along with an exotic spice nuance that builds as the wine opens up. Subtly chewy and expansive in the mouth, showing impressive energy to its intense, mineral-laced red and blue fruit preserve, candied lavender and spicecake flavors. Finishes sappy and impressively long, with resonating spice and floral notes and harmonious tannins adding gentle grip.
Full shimmering ruby. A complex, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe boysenberry, Chambord and Asian spices, and a sexy floral nuance gains strength with air. Sweet and seamless on the palate, displaying a suave blend of power and delicacy to the concentrated red and blue fruit, lavender pastille and spicecake flavors. Shows impressive energy and a mineral quality on the gently tannic, penetrating finish, which hangs on with strong, floral-driven tenacity.
Immediately a sense of darker fruit in this vintage. The nose has closed up a little since tasting in barrel. It has some reserved, sanguine notes and an essence-like, raspberry core. Some stones and chalk here, too. Very long and focused palate. The grenache is singing here. Dense but soft and supple tannins, the product of thick, healthy skins. Best from 2025.